


He Loved You, Too

by Mercury_writes



Category: Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Crying, Grief/Mourning, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, May Parker deserves better, Most characters are just mentioned, Peter and Shuri were friends fight me, Peter had a crush on michelle fight me again, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Sad, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, michelle liked him back fight me a third time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 05:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15042173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercury_writes/pseuds/Mercury_writes
Summary: A conversation with May Parker is a beacon of light disguised in Tony's sea of dark.





	He Loved You, Too

     It's windy and rainy and people are crying and it's everything you'd expect a funeral to be. Except for it's not. Funerals are for the elderly, for people who have lived their lives and have the stories to prove it. They aren't for happy-go-lucky fifteen year old boys who lived for adrenaline and wanted nothing more than to impress their mentor. But yet, here Tony sat, dressed in black, half-listening to who he assumed was May and Peter's pastor.

     It's a small affair. There weren't many people which, in a way, made it harder. He recognized Ned. He was looking down at his shoes with glassy eyes and was sitting next to who Tony assumed was MJ, the girl Peter always talks about. Well, always _talked_ about. Her cheeks are stained with tears and she's trying her best to look away from the other guests. Tony's eyes linger around the room a little while longer and, oh god, he sees May, and, oh god, she's crying. He can't help but feel a sting of guilt in his chest. After all, it was his his fault. He was the reason Peter was...

     He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought, because, in his mind, Peter wasn't dead. He was somewhere better. He was building Legos with Ned or gushing about Michelle to Natasha or training with Steve and Sam or annoying Bucky or running errands with Pepper or making jokes with Shuri or doing homework with Happy or anywhere but a pile of ash on Titan. Bad things aren't supposed to happen to good people. Bad things aren't supposed to happen to people like Peter.

     He tries to drown out his thoughts by listening to the pastor, a tall, dark-skinned black man who - appearance wise - vaguely reminds him of T'challa: yet another person Thanos had murdered with the snap of his fingers. He's talking about the tree. The tree they had planted in the courtyard of the apartment building to "celebrate Peter's life". _Wow. Fifteen years and that's what you have to show for. A fucking tree by an apartment complex in New York._

     There are refreshments after the service, but Tony won't stay. He can't. Not knowing that he did this to May. He took her nephew away from her. He's going to grab his coat and leave without saying a word.

     "I hate that goddamn tree." Or maybe he isn't. He turns to see that the garden where they had been sitting is empty save for May and himself. The same voice from before starts again, gentler and almost apologetic this time. "I know that's awful of me to say, but every time I look at that tree, I'm only reminded of everything I've lost."

     Tony really isn't sure what to do. Should he agree? Should he apologize? Should he hug her? Before he can decide, May continues. "When Ben died, I thought 'This is it, May. You have to be strong. You have to be strong for Peter.' And I was, for about five minutes, but then I just lost it. Peter was my rock. He was always my rock, and I don't know if I can get through this without him." She's crying again. "You know, you hear about kids on the news who die, and you think about their parents. Like, how do they fall asleep at night? How do they wake up in the morning? H-how do they breathe? But you do fall asleep, and you do wake up, and, and you do breathe. Because you have to. You have to sleep, and you have to get up, and you have to- you have to keep being a parent. The only difference is that you don't get to have a kid anymore."

     She's sobbing now and Tony can only think to put a hand on her shoulder. "I would give anything for one more time for him to run to Ben and I with a nightmare, or to bandage him up when he scrapes his knee, or to hold him while he's sick. One more birthday. One more Christmas. One more mothers-day." May waits a moment and then wraps her arms around Tony and pulls him into a hug. Tony holds her there, just like he had held Peter as he turned to ash, he held her. A woman who had lost her husband, her nephew, her family, her **everything** , he held her.

     "I know you loved Peter." May cried, arms still wrapped around Tony. "He loved you, too. He loved you so much."

     Her words replay over and over in Tony's head. _He loved you, too. He loved you, too._ ** _He loved you, too._**

     And for the first time since Titan, he feels warm.


End file.
